FAQ

Wait. This all happens on my Mac?

Yes. Your Mac makes the video and sound, songs and images. Download the models once, then you can render offline. Your prompts, photos and finished work stay on your machine. When online, the app checks GitHub for updates every 30 minutes, downloads models you request and sends anonymous usage counts. You can turn those counts off in Settings.

Is my Mac up to it?

Start with an Apple Silicon Mac, M1 or newer, and at least 16 GB of memory. That runs LTX-2.5 at smaller sizes. Songs need 24 GB; Hailuo H3 starts at 36 GB. At 48–64 GB, more modes and character training options open up. Phosphene checks your memory and shows what fits. Intel Macs and Windows are not supported.

How much disk space do I need?

Set aside about 40 GB for the first install, which downloads roughly 37 GB of models. Add about 75 GB if you want Hailuo H3 and 11 GB for Music Studio. Downloads resume if your connection drops.

How long before I see something?

On an M4 Max with 64 GB, a 5-second LTX-2.5 clip at High takes about 4–5 minutes. A 5-second Hailuo H3 clip on Draft + Fast takes about 5 minutes; a 3-minute song takes about 3. Your settings and Mac matter. Phosphene estimates the time before you press Generate and learns from your renders.

Free as in a trial, or actually free?

Actually free. No subscription, credits or charge for another take. The app is open source under MIT, and every feature available today stays free. The AI models have their own licences; check those before using their output commercially. Supporter and Pro are planned, but neither is on sale.

Is this an offline Sora alternative for Mac?

For making short AI video clips with dialogue and sound on your own Mac, yes. Phosphene runs LTX-2.5 and Hailuo H3 locally, with no cloud account or credits. Expect different results and render times from a cloud service. The gallery shows what these models can do.

Can I train my own face and voice?

Yes. Open Train Character and start with 15 to 500 photos. Gemma captions them locally, and you can train a voice in the same run. The full training recipe needs 64 GB. Smaller Macs use a lighter recipe, and Phosphene checks how strongly the training changed the model.

Will Pro take features away from Free?

No. Pro is for new additions only: speed-ups and optimizations, early access to new model ports, optional cloud models with your own keys, editing exports, batch jobs and scheduling, multi-character screenplay-to-film, licensed character packs and automation tools. Speed-ups, optimizations and big new work, including model ports and heavy engine work, go to Pro first for at least 60 days. Whether or when they reach Free is decided case by case. Planned pricing is $12/month or $99/year, with 200 Founding lifetime seats at $249 at launch. Nothing is on sale yet.

Can I support the project without buying Pro?

Supporter is coming for exactly that. The plan is $5/month, pay what you want from $3, or $50/year. You get a badge, betas a week early, a roadmap vote and an optional credit. It does not include Pro features and is not on sale yet. The pricing page has waitlist details.

What about Linux?

There is a community-maintained port for Linux on Apple Silicon M1/M2, thanks to @joshuaswarren. Support is best effort. The Pinokio installer is for macOS.